Greensand Way Run Day 4 - Losing the Zebra Sleeping Bag, Pricks in our ears at 1000ft, a 850ft high doody, smacking, trig point planking and our First Fivesome

This was the final day of running of our four day run. There were more surprises in store too, including a few special surprise guest runners joining our group before lunch.....and one staying on for the rest of the whole run.

If you remember you left us 'sleeping' in our tents as the rain hammered down all night and the tents nearly washed away. I got about 30 minutes sleep. I got up in the morning very damp and we packed up our gear wet without caring as it was our last day.  I remember tweeting ' I feel so rested and energised and the weather is so nice I think Ill go for a little run'

We started off an hour earlier at 8am to buy us more rest time over the hilliest part of the Greensand Way. 

Dave had a zebra print sleeping bag that smelt like a badger had died in it. He wanted to throw it away (abandon it) in the woods to stop the smell and save weight.  Ive read Michael Crichton books and know what happens when you mess with nature so we convinced sherpa Dan to carry it until we could find a morally acceptable place to throw it away.

If you live in a house on the ascent to Leith Hill Tower near Snakes Hill and found a zebra print sleeping bag that smelt like a dead badger in your wheelie bin and wondered where it came from.......er......sorry. That was us. 

Tillingbourne Water Fall. on the Greensand Way 

We ran past Tillingbourne Waterfall and began the slow steady 3 mile ascent towards Leith Hill Tower. It was raining and the visibility was very poor. This was dissapointing as we were about to run through the scenic hills of 'little switzerland' in low cloud with zero visibility.

Lee Claire Dan and Dave enjoying a coffee and breakfast at Leith Hill Tower  on the Greensand Way

We had some coffee and flapjacks for breakfast at Leith Hill Tower. On a good day you can see across to 17 counties from the Tower. When we were there we could barely see each other. 


Dave took the opportunity to do some acupunture on us in our ears. Claire has a few piercings in her ears , I have none. It helped re-centre my chukra and made my ears hot. 

Claire with Pins in ears on Leith Hill on the Greensand Way 

Lee having Acupuncture in his ears on Leith Hill on the Greensand Way  

We ran on over and down Leith Hill, We then climbed Holmbury Hill where I 'needed to go poop' . I disapeared into some bushes just off a path , got tangled in thorns with my leggings round my ankles and nearly fell down a slope. I chuckled as it occured to me I had had the highest Greensand Way doody at around 850ft up.

Dan in classic 'Greensand Way' pose on Pitch Hill

We got to Pitch Hill where Dan got the chance to pose for the classic Greensand Way 'Smack' bench picture (with no scenery due to the whiteout). He also got to do a trig point plank nearby......facing towards Fratton Bridge or 'true portsmouth magnetic'.

Dan Trig Point Planking on the Greensand Way at Pitch Hill

We ran down Pitch Hill ( I got us lost twice) and through Holmbury St Mary where we came across some interesting jubilee decorations in the form of baby tights on a line!

Jubilee baby tights in Holmbury St Mary on the Greensand Way 

Climbing up to Winterfold Heath we found we were very tired and running slower than expected. We were on a tight time schedule as we planned to meet friends at the White Horse at Hascombe at 1pm for a run to the Merry Harriers pub in Hambledon.


After some befuddled brain estimates we realised we had to really get our heads down and not take any breaks to get there on time. We slogged past Ewhurst Windmill where a walking event was taking place where people were walking 100 miles non stop and through the night. 

Running towards Graffham on the Greensand Way 

As we descended Winterfold heath I was really starting to flag again and the symptoms of low sodium were taking their toll again.  When we crossed the A281 I reckoned we were 15 minutes ahead of schedule so we took a well earned break where after eating some food and laying down felt a little bit better. We were all finding this part of the run very tough....except Dan....who never does.....ever.


We got to the White Horse about 15 minutes late. A packet of crisps made a real difference to how I felt ( a shot of salt to the system). A few of our friends were there to run with us for the 3 miles to the Merry Harriers and have lunch with us. Many of the guys were those that ran on the Easter Runday including my wife Dr G , Tim (of Greensand Way HQ fame) , Amerbob and Lydia. 


It was such a boost to have the guys with us. All my tiredness went away and the next 3 miles were really good fun. We got to the pub in high spirits and i had a massive lunch with loads of salt on my chips ( I mean loads) . Claires parents turned up as did the lovely guys from McAllister Thomas Fine Art Gallery. 

Meeting up and running with friends on the Greensand Way 

After lunch and on a whim our friend Lydia decided to run the next 12 miles with us all the way to the finish in Haslemere. This meant she would run a total of 15 miles with us that day. An amazing achievement.

Lydia continues the run with us from hambledon on the Greensand Way 

Famous Five on the Greensand Way at Hambledon

We ran through Hambledon and Witley and out towards Brook. We estimated we would get to The Swan pub to meet up with more friends around 8pm that evening. 

View from Hambledon on the Greensand Way looking out towards Black Down and our destination in the distance

Crossing the wide fields heading towards the A3 on the Greensand Way 

A Lee sized house in Hambledon on the Greensand Way 

We took our traditional break by the bridge under the A3  before gathering ourselves mentally for the long slow climb of Gibbet Hill overlooking the Devils Punchbowl.

Taking a break near Furzefield Wood on the Greensand Way 

The climb up Gibbett Hill was everything we knew it would be , long, tortuous and on very unsteady terrain. Over time Dan and Dave got well ahead of us . I knew that once we had cracked this summit the run was nearly over and it was basically just a 3 mile descent into Haslemere with very little more uphill. 

It wasnt a Race but Dan and Dave beat us to the top of Gibbett Hill on the Greensand Way

Having a celebratory 'sports drink' on the summit of Gibbet Hill. 

The Summit of Gibbett Hill was ace. The rain had backed off since lunch and we were awarded with views in most directions. Claire had brought little bottles of beer with us from her parents so we drank them to have a mini celebration at finishing the last big summit of the run. 

Lydia trig point planking on Gibbett Hill on the Greensand Way 

We also introduced Lydia to trig point planking which she was a natural at. The next few miles didn't take long in my head. Our feet had been wet all day and hurt a lot from a kind of runners trench foot which left my feet feeling raw and hot and painful. In no time at all we were in Haslemere running through the streets. As we got to the last passageway before Haslemere High Street we could hear our friends cheering us on. We got pictures and shared a bottle of champagne by the alleyway and the last Greensand Way sign.

Claire Dave Dan and Lee finishing running the whole 108 miles of the Greensand Way 

We had a meal in the Swan, I don't remember a huge amount about it. We were all in a great mood but very quickly I got very tired and just wanted to go home to bed.....................which I did.


Without having a shower.....I was too tired.




...................So that is the end of the days run.....the end of the Greensand Way run and the last blog post I will do for this blog.  I look back on the last 6 months with all the training with lots of smiles. We made lots of mistakes in training, laughed about them and blogged about them, learnt from them and achieved what we said we would do. We also beat the fundraising target of £4000 which I'm immensely proud of. We took great pictures, ran some amazing paths in training and all four of us earned our 'wings' as ultra long distance adventure runners. The run itself wasn't how I imagined it. It was different and more interesting because of it. 


Ive decided I wont be sad about not blogging here anymore. I'm going to continue blogging about my off road running ....and add to it my experiences as a pilot and diver too. 


I can 'feel' there will be other epic runs in the future. New paths, new challenges and maybe even new countries. 


Join me soon at www.airlandandsea.blogspot.com.....

Greensand Way Run Day 1 - Portaloos , 5 rucksacks for 4 runners, Blue Faces and 3 way Smoneboxing .

When you train and talk about something for so long its always a bit of a shock when it actually happens. Everything about the Thursday morning start to 'THE BIG RUN' was like preparing for a holiday, the frantic packing the night before, the not quite sleeping properly the night before from excitement, the early start, the long journey in a car the next morning. 

Dave , Dan, Claire and Lee at Platform 2 in Hamstreet Train Station at the start of the Greensand  Way 

Instead of finding ourselves at Gatwick Departures we found ourselves at Ham Street Station Thursday morning just after 9am on platform 2.  It was a little bit surreal. This was it. We said goodbye to Claires parents.


We started off ahead of schedule, the weather was ok for June. No rain and not too hot, about 20 celcius but with high humidity and not a lot of wind.  We handed over 'the con' to Tim at Greensand Way HQ who would run the Facebook and Twitter accounts and send out emails to radio and papers while we ran. He was looking at a 4 day marathon sprint of IT just like our running.


About a mile in we stopped to adjust our rucksacks and reconfigure a few things. It was then that I noticed that Dan was wearing 2 RUCKSACKS. His first rucksack had its own rucksack. He said he couldn't quite get all the gear in the first so he just brought 2. 


 I wear a lot of things to help me with my running, state of the art compression gear, the perfect trainers, KT Tape on my legs,  the perfect running rucksack , whilst Dan has an attitude to the adventure which is staggeringly impressive. He was wearing board shorts, a KT Tape top they kindly sent us, a load of borrowed kit and 2 Rucksacks. In the whole weekend of running he never moaned once. NOT ONCE. I've only ever really come across this level of stiff upper lip from people from the armed services.  He had trained in fashion trainers leading up to the run, not done a lot of training recently due to injuries he got and only really begrudginly bought some proper running trainers the week before the run because 'he felt he ought to'. 

Dan with 2 rucksacks on the greensand way near Ham Street

Each days running was planned into stages of between 3 and 7 mile stints between villages or weypoints. Due to the distance we had to keep to a time schedule or risk getting into our evening/ over night stops far too late. Our first stop at Kingsnorth was on schedule and we stopped to recharge our phones on a bulk portable battery pack I brought and eat some food and I put on some sunblock that was very blue and made me look like a smurf. We also listened to heavy rock music on daves phone and posed for KT Tape pictures we tweeted to them.....all in church graveyard.

Lee putting on blue sunscreen in Kingsnorth on the Greensand Way

From Kingsnorth we stopped following the Greensand Way north and started heading  north west towards Great Chart. When youve run the entire Kent stretch before a few months earlier you wonder whether the route will hold anything new for you.  It did. With the change in season all the Oil Seed Rape was gone, the fields looked much more full of crops and the terrain had changed. As we an through Godinton Park we were amused to find the entire field scattered with unused and clean portaloos.  Some members of our group took this as a welcome opportunity.

Claire uses the outdoor facilities at Godinton on the Greensand Way 

We were then also amused to find out that it had been set up for a scout camping weekend so as usual Claire had managed to find scouts on our run.


From there it was a continued run to the Hothfield Bogs which are a nature reserve. Dave and Dan don't like running through livestock so I was amused to see lots of horses and cows wondering freely about while we took another quick 15 minute break for phone charging and a drink and some food. 

Horses in the Hothfield Bogs on the Greensand Way

We now ran through Little Chart and our first few beautiful fruit orchards  and on towards Pluckley. Having run the route before and with a better phone navigation app we found the navigating much easier than before. Especially as we now knew the Kent rule of 'no sign just follow anything stuck, glued or painted yellow'.

Claire in an orchard near Pluckley on the Greensand Way

Our plan was to have a 1 hour break for lunch in Pluckley at the fantastic Black Horse Pub. It is the most haunted pub in Kent and also a location where the Darling Buds of May was filmed.


Just before we got there claire took an opportunity for some quick posing in a 'salad bowl' on a playground in a Dita von Tease style 

Claire does her 'Dita von Tease salad bowl tribute' on the Greensand Way 

Lunch at the Black Horse in Pluckley on the Greensand Way

After Pluckley you run through an area called Shipland which has the most amazing viewpoint looking down across the landscape towards an Oast House hotel at Elvey Farm. 

Dan running along the Viewpoint just west of Pluckley near Elvey Farm on the Greensand Way 

With a nice lunch inside us and a refuel of our camelbacks with water and ice cubes we were in high spirits again as we ran towards Egerton. We also ran through Liverton Street and shortly after we came across a bench with an amazing view and with the shout 'you know the drill boys' Dave and Dan got topless for some 'Smacking'

Dan and Dave do a 2 way 'smack' near East Sutton on the Greensand Way 

We ran past the young offenders Institute in East Sutton, through Sutton Valence at which point it was early evening and we were all finding it quite hard going. 


We stopped for a quick '3 way smonebox' near East Sutton.

Lee, Dave and Dan doing a 3 way 'Smonebox' or smiling with your phonebox.

It wasn't much further to Boughton Monchelsea where we were stopping for the night. We said hi to the goats in the sancturary and then turned north off the Greensand Way at home farm and headed north into the village.  


We were very tired and got to the village stores around 7pm and bought a load of food and drink for the evening meal and breakfast.

Arriving at the Scout Hut at Boughton Monchelsea on the Greensand Way 

We then walked to the Scout Hut at Boughton Monchelsea where we were staying for the night. 

Sports Food on the Greensand Way 

We cooked up a massive pan of pasta and sat round the table and ate it. We handwashed our clothes in the sink and put them up to dry and rolled out our thermarests for bed around 10pm. Put the phones on charge for the night and fell asleep.


We had another days tiring running ahead of us and what we didn't know then was the next day was going to be one of the hardest and trying days running any of us had ever done. 

Loads of Hash in Lees Garden

It was hashing time again on Monday night. This was to be a special hash for Scrum Muffin (Claire) and  Little Pecker (me) as we were setting the hash. We chose the White Horse at Hascombe as the 'On Inn' so that Guildford Hash House Harriers got to experience a little that the Greensand Way has to offer.

Little Pecker was the 'Live Hare' at the White Horse on the Greensand Way

We scouted out the route the night before and decided that we would spice things up a bit by having me set the hash Live (remember In The Bum did it in a previous blog?) . This meant I would set off only about 15 minutes ahead of the hashers and lay the trail as I ran.

Scrum Muffin was 'check in chicken' at the white horse on the Greensand Way

Scrum Muffin was to be Check in Chicken which meant she stayed near the back and made sure the stupid/lazy/knitting club/elderly hashers made it back alive. This is not a job for the feint  hearted, you need good CPR and first aid skills as well as severe patience.

Some runners from Amsterdam Joined us on the Hash at the White Horse at Hascombe on the Greensand Way

It was great to see some new faces (visitors) as usual. There were even two chaps from Amsterdam who were in for quite a shock when they were to meet some 'uphill' terrain they had never experienced before.

Little Pecker lays the flour trail in Busbridge Woods

So off I went at 7.15 pm. running as fast as I could I went straight up the Hurtwood on the Greensand Way before diverting across it towards Little Burgate Farm. Laying little flour marks and 'checking' circles as I went. Music in my headphones blaring I was determined they wouldnt catch me!

Flour trail near Little Burgate Farm

15 minutes later and the main hash was off charging (and moaning) up The Hurtwood too! By this time I was well past Little Burgate Farm and working my way towards Busbridge Woods and a surprise for the Hash at the Halfway mark.

Hasher at sunset at Little Burgate Farm near the Greensand Way

As Scrum Muffin kept things calm at the rear of the pack the guys at the front found themselves climbing a very steep path I call the treasure path and bursting out in to someones garden! 

Guildford Hash House Harriers at a beer stop in Hascombe at Little Peckers House.

The Garden was mine and they found me relaxing there with a little beer in hand welcoming everyone to the halfway mark and a beer stop. Always a welcome surprise on any hilly run.

Useful signpost near Hascombe near the Greensand Way 

It was nice for me to leave my garden with the group and continue on back towards the White Horse. We ran them out through a part of Hascombe Grange and back down towards Hascombe. Eventually we popped out back by the pond at Hascombe where the Hashers rejoined the Greensand Way for the final sprint back to the car park.

hashing flour marks at the pond in hascombe on the Greensand Way

We marked the end of the run with the usual 'On Inn' and signed it off LP for Little Pecker and SM for Scrum Muffin.

Flour trails marking the hash on the Greensand Way 

The hashers all said they really enjoyed a very scenic run so we were very pleased.  We even found out from the bar man at the White Horse that he used to hash in Russia in Moscow through Gorky Park!


There are so many beautiful trails in this area we are bound to bring the hashers back here again soon. In the meantime it felt fitting that we were there  less than two weeks before our main run in a place where we had trained, done an Easter Runday and led 2 hashes. 


There is a small chance some of the flour may still mark the way when we do our actual run on the Jubilee weekend.




On On !


Little Pecker 

Snakes, Ladders, The Statue of Libertree and 'Cows' with no Udders on the Sussex Border Path

Last Saturday was to be the final 'big' run before the main event in less than a week. To keep things fresh and interesting we planned an off road marathon linking the end of the Greensand Way in Haslemere with where Dan and Dave live in Portsmouth (just in case they wanted to run home after running the whole Greensand Way).

The Sussex Border Path sign near Marley Combe

Dave and I spent weeks planning our off road  routes ( I was to get us from Haslemere to Petersfield and Dave from there to Portsmouth). We looked at Ordnance Survey maps, scratched our heads, used google and conversed by email.


Whilst we planned a meticulous and highly complex route involving various trails we then noticed the day before  that the Sussex Border Path ran continuously from Haslemere all the way to Rowlands Castle. 


So.....er.....we did that.

The night before in true Greensand Way style  we took the opportunity to 'carb load' with multiple 'sports drinks' at the Royal Oak pub in Guildford. As well as it being a Ukejam night we had the amazing T34 s playing and our band Genevieve and The Zut Alors were supporting.

'Lorraine Quiche' and 'Alain Gateaux' playing with Genevieve and the Zut  Alors at the Royal Oak Guildford

The above photo is courtesy of Paul Tansy the Photographer. Check out his website at 

www.stylishweddingphotography.com

Al Murray and the mighty T 34s rock the Royal Oak in Guildford

We had an absolute blast and everyone had a great time.


 I woke up at a shocking 6.30 am because Dave and Dan suggested we meet at Haslemere at 8 am to set off. While Claire and I waited just inside the train station at Haslemere at 8am impatiently waiting for Dan and Dave they were sat just outside Haslemere station waitinf for Claire and me. We ran through the streets of Haslemere until we got to Marley Combe. Here we could use the serpent trail to link us up with the Sussex Border path.  This was a day when all of us were doing a final road test with all the kit we would use on the main Greensand Way run. Claire had a new Osprey rucksack and Dave and Dan were running with their full kit too. (well nearly).

Dan and Dave meet up with the Sussex Border Path near linchmere

Having followed the Serpent Trail for a while we met up with the Sussex Border Path and very quickly came across a bench overlooking a scenic pond. We took this opportunity to do some 'Smacking' - Smiling with our Back.

Dan does some 'smacking' - smiling with your back  on the Sussex Border Path

We ran on through the paths shaded by the woods running through Linchmere and Stanley Common and eventually got to Liphook. This was on the border with West Sussex and Hampshire so we had managed to run in 3 counties in one day.

Dan Dave and Claire at the border on the Sussex Border Path

Lee Dave and Dan at the border on the Sussex Border Path

I was very pleased to see from 'Science' that the Sussex Border Path took us straight through the middle of another Golf Course. We took this opportunity to improve our golf swings while running. We did notice that we were at the end of the driving range so we didnt stick around for too long. 

Practicing our golf swings whilst running through Liphook on the Sussex Border Path

The run was great, the sun was out and there were very few hills. The woodland was quite dense so with the lack of hills we rarely got any impressive views. We also found that the serpent trail merged with the Sussex Border Path a lot and also weaved through it making navigation a bit confusing at times. ( I got us lost a total of 4 times on this run!). This did also lead to us looking at the map and taking a short cut at Langley which we were very pleased with ourselves at because it made us feel naughty.

Claire Dave and Dan looking out at the South Downs near Durford Wood on the Sussex Border Path

Having spent most of the morning running through relatively flat woodland the scenery opened up as we ran out of Durford Wood and we got our first glimpse of the South Downs in the distance which we would be crossing over in the afternoon. It was fantastic. 

Dan goes up a ladder on the Sussex Border Path

Dan took the opportunity to climb a ladder and get a better view. It was nice for him to see how the world looks from Daves point of view for a change.


The 'urban' part of our team - Dave and Dan - like to point out strips of tarmac and roads and proclaim 'this is the portsmouth way' . They also sport more 'urban' interpretations of running gear like white trainers. The stretch we ran before lunch got more and more 'shiggy' until the mud was very deep and all over the place. Claire and I laughed a lot as Dan and Dave did everything they could to avoid getting muddy including climbing along a barbed wire fence rather than running through the mud.

Dan and Dave 'urban runners' avoid shiggy by climbing along a barb wire fence.

'Cowmaggedon' came next . This happened at Down Park Farm. We had a difficult field to navigate where the next stage of the path wasn't clear. i used 'Science' to 'fly by instruments' across the field watching the blip on the screen and making sure it stayed on the green line. As I did this a herd of 'cows' came over to us and starting coralling Claire and I. The 'urban team' were having none of it and backed off to leave Claire and I in the middle of a large field. 


Normally 'Cows' just ignore you as you go by but these guys were much more 'frisky'. Everytime we turned our back they were almost charging us. Eye contact was mainly enough to see them off and they would stop mid charge and rejoin the group. 


We eventually got across the field with me commenting that it reminded me of a time I had been surrounded underwater by a school of barracuda.  Whilst all the drama unfolded the 'urban team' had slipped across the field unnoticed as Claire and I had been the distraction.


It was only in the evening after the run that closer inspection of our photos by Dr G my wife that she pointed out that 'Cows' with no udders......were called BULLS.

Cowmaggedon - look at the posture of the brown Bull with white head to the right of Claire

We took another shortcut using about 1.5 mile of road to get to lunch in The White Hart Pub in South Harting. We took the shortcut as the terrain had been very  muddy and had severely slowed us down and we were long past the half way mark of the run and needed to eat. 


This was a great opportunity for me to realise I had spent the entire morning running with my compression top on back to front....and change it round in the toilets. It was also a chance for Dan to smack his head really hard on a low beam and leave a bruise the size of a kinder egg right on top of his head. This would be the first of many minor injuries for him on this run.

Crossing the South Downs Way on the Sussex Border Path near South Harting

After Lunch we crossed the South Downs Way on the South Harting Down at a point called Forty Acre Lane. We then ran on and I began to make a series of increasingly more stupid navigational errors which got us off track a number of times. The first time in the afternoon I missed a split in the track and we had to go up a very steep hill off track to rejoin the Sussex Border Path. This led to 'Bramblegeddon' and Dan got his bare 'urban' legs scraped to bits.

The 'Statue of Libertree' on the Sussex Border Path  (well actually just off it) 

The next time was even worse and we were so off track it was easier to navigate a whole new route past a farm called Eckensfield. Claire and I noticed that it had a tree we thought looked like the statue of Liberty so we named it the Statue of Libertree. 


We rejoined the Sussex Border Path (again) and ran along until we got to Chalton. Here it was simply a matter of turning south and running over the Chalton Down. It was much more scenic and we could see Ditcham Park School in the distance.

Dan and Dave running up Chalton Down on the Sussex Border Path

We took a quick break on the railway bridge that crossed at Chalton and then ran towards the Staunton Way . This would take us down to Rowlands Castle about 4 miles away. 

Taking a rest at Chalton on the Sussex Border Path

Claire joins the Staunton Way on our run

As we ran over the Idsworth Down it occured to me that as we got to the top of the rolling hill we might be able to see the coast. As we got to the crest of the hill not only could we see the coast but we saw 5 deer run across in the distance in front of Dave and Dan. This was magic.

Dan and Dave running along Idsworth Down on the Sussex Border Path 

As we ran through The folly Dan became a tumbling tosser and fell over brilliantly cutting his hands and getting himself dirty. We laughed while Claire patched him up with our first aid kit.

Dan with - Bruise on head, cut hand and scraped legs

We got into Rowlands Castle about 4pm and enjoyed a nice cool pint and some free sandwiches at the pub by the train station.  We were all surprised at how good we felt. This is probably a sign of the training we have done.

Lee Claire and Dave at the finish

We got on the train in separate directions. Dan and Dave heading back to Portsmouth and Claire and I back to Godalming. The train journey back was a great chance to whizz past all the bits we had run that day in a 45 min high speed review.

Rucksacks getting a well earned rest on the way home

So thats it. The next time the 'urban crew' and ' hashers' meet will be THE BIG RUN. It is hard to believe we are a week away now at time of writing this. 

We've done the training, chosen our kit, practiced our navigation... There is little more to do. We are now in a 'wind down' stage where we rest more and more and train less as the days go on.

We've got a few more blogs yet , A hash Claire and I are leading with the Guildford Hash House Harriers and as well as the main run, we have an amazing after run party booked at the Royal Oak in Guildford on the 9th June.

Dont forget that we have a charity  donation page here 

www.charitygiving.co.uk/greensandway2012

The Greensand Way 4